Haworth Tompkins is working with Lyons, our Australian partners, focusing on the new home for the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) within ECU City. The new WAAPA will activate the northern side of the campus, with a dynamic and welcoming entrance to draw in a diverse group of theatre patrons, visiting artists, university students and members of the community.

The WAAPA spaces will feature state-of-the-art learning, engagement and performance venues for students and staff to learn, teach, create and perform in world-class theatres. The multi-level foyers incorporate new bars and cafes and have the ability to facilitate impromptu performances and a provision for cross arts use.

The campus hosts six new world-class performance venues - a recital hall for orchestral performance, a dance theatre, a playhouse theatre with orchestra pit and flytower, a jazz and contemporary venue, an Aboriginal performance venue, and a flexible drama theatre with an audience balcony, plus two public performance capable rehearsal theatres. The suite of venues will enable WAAPA to stage the full spectrum of their performing arts work in professional theatres, and develop their ambitious artistic, research and educational programme

A series of teaching spaces, ranging from large rehearsal rooms and studios to ensemble and practice rooms, will support artistic development for the dynamic cohort of WAAPA students. Embedding WAAPA into ECU City will ensure that a diverse range of ECU’s students and Perth’s wider community can experience both “front of house” aspects and “behind the scenes” glimpses of the extraordinary work that happens at this leading conservatoire.

ECU City is located on the traditional lands of the Whadjuk Noongar people.